Munster beefed up by quintet

FIVE of Munster’s most experienced players have been released from the national squad to assist in a pre-season match against La Rochelle on Friday.

Munster coach Tony McGahan is delighted to have the experienced Peter Stringer, Damian Varley, Niall Ronan, Mick O’Driscoll and Marcus Horan available for the game that comes at the end of a four day camp in the French city.

Many regulars are still involved in the Irish squad, but McGahan will have a squad of 31 in France and seems certain to give game time to newcomers Ian Keatley and BJ Botha, who have joined from Connacht and Ulster, respectively.

McGahan is playing a waiting game in his search for a new midfielder and might well have to wait until after the World Cup to attract a player of the required quality.

In the meantime, with the experienced Keatley and Botha on board, he said 11 players had been “jumped up” from Academy or Development status to full contracts and emphasised the importance of having such young players coming through the system.

“Because so many players have been involved with Ireland – 20 I think – we have had a very varied population of players training with us the past six weeks. But it has been nothing but positivity because all those players have had no interruptions,” he said.

There will be little difference from last season in terms of availability of front line players and McGahan figures the elevation of Felix Jones and Conor Murray into the national squad could well stretch resources further.

“It has been similar for four years; structures in the national programme is such our top international players, 10 or 12 of them, play about 40% of the league. We’re well used to that, but we’re always happy to see players move into the international arena and we’re delighted for both Felix (who made his Irish debut against Scotland) and Conor. It’s a big positive to have two young players learning from the best players in Ireland”.